MEN’S BASKETBALL — Coming off a double-overtime thriller at home against San Francisco State on Jan. 16, the UCSD men’s basketball team sought to carry its momentum against Humboldt State and Sonoma State on Jan. 21 and Jan. 23, but was ultimately swept away by both teams.
The Tritons lost 66-78 to Sonoma State at Sea Wolf Gymnasium on Jan. 23, and fell 60-74 to Humboldt State at Lumberjack Gym on Jan. 21. The two losses put the Tritons at 4-10 overall and 3-8 in California Collegiate Athletic Association play.
Senior guard Jordan Lawley put on a stellar performance Saturday, scoring 28 points, five boards and three assists. Lawley went nine-of-19 from the field, scoring 18 of his 28 points in the first half alone.
Senior guard Tyler Acevedo sent in eight points of his own, and freshman forward Justin Brue had a solid game off the bench, racking up seven points and six rebounds in just 16 minutes of play.
The Tritons shot at 43 percent overall.
The Seawolves led by as many as nine points in the first half, but UCSD battled back to make it a tight game. The match saw 11 total ties and eight lead changes.
After Brue grabbed the lead 56-55 on a jump shot, Sonoma regained control with a three-pointer and pair of free throws. UCSD never came within seven points for the rest of the game, and eight Sonoma free throws in the final minute put the nail in the coffin for the Tritons.
“For both games, we came out really strong and competed with an early lead,” sophomore guard Jay Wey said. “But as the game progressed, our intensity trailed off and we ended up coming up short. Both games had too many turnovers, and we had trouble rebounding defensively when it mattered. We are a young team that is getting better though, and I’m expecting good things [for] these upcoming games leading up to the Spirit Night game.”
On Thursday, the Lumberjacks scored 24 points off of 18 Triton turnovers. Humboldt also took a 26-8 advantage on bench scoring.
UCSD shot at 50 percent while Humboldt shot at 48 percent; however, the opponents were plus-nine at the charity line.
Lawley, the conference’s leading scorer, did all he could for UCSD, scoring 30 points after matching a career-high 31 against San Francisco State. However, Lawley needed more help from the supporting cast, who combined for just 30 points behind him. Acevedo was three-of-nine from the field for nine points, and sophomore center Christian Hatch sent in eight points.
No other Triton scored more than five points in the game.
Despite jumping out to a 15-4 lead — with Lawley and Acevedo connecting for three triples — the Tritons could not rein back the Lumberjacks after giving up the lead, and suffered a 60-74 defeat.
UCSD returns home for four straight games over the next two weeks. The team will open the stretch against Cal Poly Pomona on Jan. 28 at 7:30 p.m., before welcoming Cal State San Bernardino into town on Jan. 31.
Readers can contact Cameron Tillisch at [email protected].
